Eureka! Stress and Zoomies

I’ve had several helpful light bulb moments in my dog training career. One of these moments came when a trainer made the off-handed remark that my high-drive Rottweiler was “stressing high” as she ran in a circle around the ring (also known as the zoomies) after missing a weave pole entrance. I had never heard of stressing high and understanding the concept helped me better evaluate dogs in training.

Stressing Up (or High) versus Stressing Down (or Low)

Different dogs exhibit signs of stress in different ways. Your dog may slow down, sniff the ground, or avoid obstacles–these behaviors are found in dogs who stress low. However, other dogs react to stress with greater speed and excitement which may culminate in racing around the ring while ignoring the handler, also known as the zoomies. Zoomies are a sign of stressing high.

Why Does it Matter?

Recognizing this behavior as stress is important because it helps us create a training plan to address the underlying issue! When beginner handlers see the zoomies, they immediately try to control their dog, failing to recognize it as a sign of stress. Thus, they will often focus on recalls and often incorporate various forms of punishment or bribing to prevent the zoomies, which can be very embarrassing when they occur at a trial. I eventually realized that my rottweiler was taking laps after stress related to missing the weave pole entry, and so I focused my training on weave entries and our zoomies went away. As I gained experience as a trainer, I was able to show my dog that a mistake is not a stressful event, and that another opportunity for reinforcement is right around the corner.